Theater review: Cleveland Play House's Woody Sez' is well-traveled but not road-weary

Courtesy of Roger Mastroianni

David Finch, left, David M. Lutken, Leenya Rideout and Helen Jean Russell perform in the Cleveland Play House production of "Woody Sez: The Life & Music of Woody Guthrie" in the Allen Theatre at PlayhouseSquare.

The 90-minute bio-drama is a mixed blessing. It offers historical facts in an easily digestible format that is as entertaining as it is unsatisfying. These affectionate glimpses into the lives of influential people hit the highs and lows with glancing blows and at such blinding speed that they are surely sponsored by Evelyn Wood.
Such is the case with “Woody Sez,” a Cleveland Play House production at PlayhouseSquare, which explores the life and migrant music of songsmith-with-a-social conscience Woody Guthrie.
More concert than theatrical production, “Woody Sez” weaves its storytelling about the man and his times — from Guthrie’s birth in 1912 through his activism during the Great Depression, to his demise from Huntington’s disease and hard living in the 1960s — between musical performances that tap his incredible catalog of folksy ballads, patriotic anthems, and political rabble-rousing.
Like Guthrie himself, “Woody Sez” is well-traveled, having been conceived in 2007 and arriving in Cleveland as a self-contained, fully operational enterprise rather than a locally originated production.
In fact, two of the four traveling performers are original cast members, and one of them, David Lutken, devised the show along with director Nick Corley. The attractive but minimalist set design — little more than wood crates for sitting, stands to hold the instruments, and hanging photos of Guthrie and Dust Bowl landscapes — travels with the show.
Lutken, Helen Jean Russell, David Finchand and Leenya Rideout are musician-actors who play more than 25 songs on 23 acoustic and simple wind instruments, and they are superb. Lutken not only looks and sounds remarkably like Guthrie, but the common-man charm he generates while directly addressing the audience during his narration gives us the impression we are in the presence of Guthrie himself. The others play assorted, supporting roles.
Still, Guthrie’s music speaks for itself and does most of the storytelling in this production. Familiar tunes such as “This Train Is Bound for Glory” and “This Land Is Your Land” immediately capture the audience’s attention. But it is “Dust Storm Disaster,” “I Ain’t Got No Home in This World Anymore” and “The Ballad of Tom Joad” — powerful songs original to or revised by Guthrie — that paint the most vivid and stirring portraits.
Remarkably, these songs still resonate, even though the nation is less migratory, the times are not as tough, and the audience is less apt to march, picket or protest for the rights of others. When played and sung with the virtuosity and passion possessed by these four performers, “Woody Sez” becomes more than the sum of its easily digestible, glancing and collectively unsatisfying parts, and is incredibly moving.
Like Guthrie himself, these performers seem energized from their travels; they show no signs of road-weariness or tedium with the material. It seems as if every song and every story is being shared for the first time. This production is clearly a joyous labor of love, especially for Lutken, and that not only comes across in this CPH performance, it is contagious.
It is unlikely the audience will rise in dissent, but it is pretty much guaranteed they will stand at the end of the performance.“Woody Sez” continues through Oct. 6 in Cleveland Play House’s Allen Theatre at PlayhouseSquare. For tickets, which range from $15 to $72, call 216-241-6000 or visit www.clevelandplayhouse.com.